New Song

Just finished a new song. I actually played it at a show this past Thursday. I don't usually share new material until I have gone through it at least 100 times, but I decided to push myself.
It was well received, which is great. It has since changed quite a bit, which is also great. My good friend Kim recorded a one take wonder of the song in its very early, very raw form in her living room. I think I might post it when she sends it over, so people can get a sneak peek at where my brain is right now.
Since starting to work on the new album, I have been going through all the tunes I have been mulling over, some new, some years old. I gave working names to them, and began the process of playing them through, sounding out syllables, and thinking about what each of the songs feels like, what I feel like, and what I want it to say. If you were to listen to me constructing a song in the early stages, it would probably be unsettling. Like happening upon someone speaking in tongues.
Strangely, this new song was not on the list. It came from me trying to adapt one of the songs from my first album for Ukulele while I was rehearsing for my show. I have to say, it really messed with my rehearsal, because every time I tried to play through a song, I was drawn back to the new one. It actually would not let me focus on anything else. I had to stay up really late to finish it. I called a grounding force in Vancouver to leash myself to the real world, and then edged my way out into the ether to get the lyrics, the bridge, and the meaning. I got back with enough time for a few hours of sleep, and then headed to Montreal for my show. It went well, despite my inability to polish my set the way I normally would. But I think it was a fair trade and people were happy to hear something new.
I haven't given it a name yet. Its hard, because lyrically, it is very intense. I used words with powerful associations. In the song, they flow, but as a title, they could be off-putting or over the top. And I don't want to just name it after the meaning of the song and "give away the punchline." A lot went into it in a very short time. It contains a few lines and a palindrome from a song that I put into storage. And the verses are modeled after Paul Simon's song Crazy Love, from the Graceland album. It is heavy and light.
Are you just dying to hear it now?
Good, that was the point of this blog post.
I'm not usually one to give lengthy explanations before I share a tune, but in this case, I wanted people to know that i'm not just speaking in code. Some of the lyrics in this song are what I call magic words. They carry a certain weight, and a certain association with them that can lead to different interpretations, which was my intention.
Now I am excited for you to hear it!
I will release it soon, stay tuned!

New Ideas

the Blarney is flowing. I've got lists. I've got plans. I was recently reminded about one of the secret pleasures of wintering in the country. The quiet. I went for a hike with some friends, and half way up the mountain, the peace was overwhelming. We started to whisper. We walked more softly.

My brain likes the quiet.

What inspires me right now is prayer. An internal thought that you want heard, lost in the ether. And call and answer. (you'll know what I mean when you hear it, trust me)

When I was young, my family went to Catholic Church on Sundays. I remember bits about a lamb, a sacrifice, grant us, deliver us, have mercy on us. Those words scared me. I never felt comfortable there.
A few years ago, I celebrated Christmas with some Pagans (so it wasn't Christmas, it was Yule...) I was asked to participate in a prayer. Having remembered the prayers of my youth I was reluctant, but these were good friends, so I agreed.
We stood in a circle with some bread and some wine (familiar, but not symbolic of body parts in this particular case). Then one at a time, my friends approached me smiling; they offered me some bread and said, "may you never hunger". Once everyone had received the offering, they circulated again with wine. "may you never thirst".
Simple. No stipulations. No fear. Just a genuine interest in my well being, which in following moments was extended to the ground we stood on, the air we breathed, the rain that had fallen and the sun that followed it.
When I look at songs that I have written, I can see that they are a lot like prayers. Now that I can see it, I can feel my strength as a writer, and the power of my words.

New Year, New Album

I have been accumulating new material over the past months, since my return to Quebec, and I am preparing to record a new album.
The move has been a challenge. I can't say whether this place is different than how I remembered it, or I am looking at it with new eyes. In any case, I am embracing the opportunity to see different, be different, and learn how to re-connect with my roots.